Clutch and operating means therefor.



A. E. HOLCOMB. CLUTCH AND OPERATING MEANS THEREFOR.

APPLIOATION FILED 00T. 22,1906.

Patented Nov. 17, 1908.

l l I I l l www ALPHEUS ELToN HoLcoMB, or cnicaeo, ILLINOIS, Assisiion lOHNSON, OF OREGON, ILLINOIS.

CLUTCH AND OPERATING MEANS '."EBBEREFOR.

Specification of Letters Patent.l

Patented Nev. 17, 1908.

Application led October 32, 21506. Serial No. 839,92L

To all whom 'it muy concern:

Be it known that l, ALriiEUs ELTONHOL- colin, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have Improvements in Clutches and Operating Means Therefor, of which the following is a full, clear, concise, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawing, forming a part of. this specilication.

My invention relates to improvements in clutches and operating means therefor, and especially to that class of clutches used in connection with winding drums for connecting the drum to the driving shaft when it is desired to hoist the load.

With certain classes of hoisting drums, it has heretofore, in the commercial art, been the practice toprovide a non-selfdocking friction clutch for connect-ing the winding drluuwvilh the revolvingvslnift and to provide for operating the friction clutch, a thrust device which vforces the two ineliibers of the clutch together, so closely, that the clutch will operate. Certain objections have been presented to such a structure namely, that it requi res either additional parts such as a ratchet quadrantaiid pawl or the constant attention of an operator, in`that. the handle for operating the thrust devicel must, be constant-ly heldin position to prevent the clutch members from releasing. Also, the end thrustbetween. the thrust pin of the clutch and the thrust device for operating the clutch has been so great that under certain circumstances, when the drum operates at great speed, the two members will become heat-ed and frequently weld together, destroying-the machinery and frequently causing lossof life.

(lne of the objects of my invention is to avoid the above noted objections by providing means whereby the thrust for.operating the clutch members is maintained for a limited period only and not. during the entire time the clutch is'operating. In accomplishing thisobject. l. provide in` combination with a thrust device for operating the clutch `members, a locking means which maintains the clutches in operative position after the saine has been operated by the thrust device.

By my present invention, I am enabled to provide a simple operative mechanism where` by the operator may conveniently,operate invented new and useful the thrust device, and at the same "ne be in 'a position to control his engine or Actor.

made therein, without departing from the spirit of the invention. Y ii said drawings: Figure l is a sectional view of a hoisting drum and one form of my invention; Figs. 2, 3 and 4 are detail views of the connecting means between the thrust device and the thrust in; and, Fig` 5 is a view showing a modi ication of my invention.

Referring to the device illustrated in 'the accompanying drawing, upon suitable standards or supports l are formed bearings 2 in which is arranged to rotate a shaft @ne end of this shaft has keyed thereto a` winch 5a which may be used for certain work where it is not desired to operate the hoisting drum. The bearinO-s for the'shaft 3 are provided with suitab e oil cups 4t for lubricating the same, and upon the shaft between the standards l is loosely mounted a hoisting drum 5.

'At one end of the drum between the same and one of the end standards is mounted upon the shaft 3, a. driving wheel (i. This wheel in the present instance,tales the form of a gear wheel suitably keyed upon the shaft and arranged to mesh with the pinion of a suitable operating motorby which the shaft 3 is rotated.

' The drum 5 has arranged at its opposite end a clutch for connecting the same to the shaft 3. This clutch comprises a hub 7 keyed upon the shaft 3 and having an annular channel formed on the periphery thereof in which are arranged to tit a plurality of rings 8 which are feathered upon the hub 7. Arranged to fit between the rings S are a plurality of rings t) feathered upon an annular tlange 10 formed upon the end of the drum'. The inner'end of theA hub 7 forms at'll an abutment against which these rings may be pressed. A head l2 is mounted upon' an annular adjustingnut l2, which in turn screws upon a Vprojection 13 formed on the hub 7 and serves to inclose theA above described portion ofthe clutch and access is obtained to the interior of the clutch by means of the annular removable ring 14 which tits over the head l2 the annular fiange 10. Aiso mounted upon OF ONE-HALF TO FRANGS M.

and is bolted to its ' eases@ the hub is an annular movable ringl l which .is considerably thicker in cross section than the rinqs S and 9, and has connected thereto the operating* mechanism for squeezing the rings .8 and il together. This mechanisml eonsists ont suitable sels of links, one set thereof hein@y arranged upon opposite sides olf the shalt and connected to a'eonuuon thrust collar mounted upon the shaft. As both 'sets of links are alike, l shall` in describing the saine. refer to one set only. ilivotalljf secured to the ring l5 is a short iinlt 16 pirotally connected at its outer end a heli crank lever 1T. which in turn is oivotally connected luitween projecting s to' the head li? and is secured at its i 1r end hy means of a short link 1T to a sliding.r link member 1S mounted upon the ace of the head l2. This sliding link preferably has a nrojection which ineniher tits in a slot formed in the )head- 12 whereby`- the link will slide radially upon said head.

.The lower end of this sliding link is connected by a short link 19 to athrust collar 2G suitably feathered upon the shaft 3, and

the link 19 is arranged at such an angle that as the thrust Follar 20 is nioved toward `the head l2.J the ink i9 Willufause the link lSto collar :20 by a cross-head ill. exteiding through the collar :2U and the inner end of the thrust-pin 'the outer end of the thrust pin :22 is provided with a head arr: nged to be engaged hf; 'the head Llof the threaded screw 25 which operates in a threaded hearing 26 carried upon the standard l and forms a thrust device for operating the clutcln' The head '215 rotates with the shalt and the head 2l is relatively stationary with respect to the saine. is only slightly turned for open ating' the cluteln Secured to the end of the head 2l a hearing' plug lla for `receiving the wear. It is therefore necessar'vto provide .some means whereby the friction heas it..

tween the tivo heads isreduced to a niiniv which als) eohneets the screw :Z5y to cause the pin to.

the thrust pin 22 and a portion of the' threaded inemher Thelop portion 29 is-chnnneled as atgl to forni an oil recep-v tacle which communicates with thel interiorl chamber 27 of the casing by means of suitable ports 3Q. The oil receptacle 31 coin cides with a port 33 in the bearing 26 throueh which oil issupplicd to the oil reeeptac e from an oil'hox 34 mounted upon the bearing 26. lt will he 'noted that the oil receptacle 31 is of suicient length to permit a slight movement. of the easing 2T Without aiiecting the feeding ot" the oil thereto troni theport. .The casing'T is preferablyy out transversely at 35 and therein divided in two sections to permit the insertion of the saine in the bore 30 and around the heads Q3 and El.

rlhe threaded member Z5 is provided with an operating handle 36 whereby the saine may be rotated` and in operation1 the han-v dle is rotated in a clock-Wise direction to advance the threaded member 25, vin its bearing. As the threaded member is advanced in its hearing the head thereotA will engage the head 23 ofthe thrust pin and force the thrust pin forward 'carrying with it the thrust collar Q0. The forward movement of the thriist collar 20.v as before explained, causes 'a vradial movementot the sliding link 18, wnich in turn eaifses the inner end of the hell crank lever 1T to niove inwardl;1 Ytoward 'the shalt. Thisin tumicauses the link 1G to advance the, rint member l5 on the hub compressing the rings S and Q'betvveen it and lthe abutment ll, whereby the rings will frio tionally engage each other and connect the hub 7 with the drum 5 causing the drinn to rotate with the shaft 3.

llvhen the outer end of the bellcrank lever i7 has been moved sullicien'tljvv to force the inner end thereof past a straight line con necting the central pivoting: point of the le! ver i? and the point on which the link 1G is connected to the ring 15 the clute-h will he locked and the drum will be rotating at full speed. and at the sanietime all end thrust upon the tlneaded'tlnu'st inemlrerl Q5 ma)Y he removed by slightly turning the operat ing handle 36 in a reverse direction separating the heads 23 and Qi a small fraction of an inch, The internal lWidth of the oil easing 27 1s made shghtlygreater than the conibined Widths of the mein'hers 23,251 and ill-a,

in order .to render this separationv possible.l

. aiiccting the first member and having @tending flange at' its rear part, friction disks feathered on the second-mentioncd member,

the links and releasing the clutch rings, thereby permitting the shaft and member of the clutch keyed thereto to rotate Without drum 5.'

i have illust-rated inI Fig. 5, almodiiication si my invention Whereininstead ofproviding the threaded thrust member for forcing the thrust ypin forward to cause the clutch to engage, a duid pressure operated thrust member is provided, lIn this construction, the head Qa'is Vformed on the end of the piston rod 37 whichl is connected at its opposite end to a piston 38 operating in a cylinder 39 mounted upon one of the standards l. Suitable 'ports 40 and 4t are provided in the c linder to permit the admission of steam fiom either side of the piston so' that thesame may be operated to move .f the thrust collar 20 forward or backward. I

have here mentioned steam as the 'fluid pressure moving the piston, but it will be understood that any other suitable fluid pressure could be employed.

Having thus described invention, What 1 claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

l. In a friction clutch, a member rotatably I mounted on the shaft, a second member nonrotatably mounted on the shaft adjacent the first member and having an outwardly eX- tending flange at its rear part, friction disks feathered on the second mentioned member, friction disks feathered on the first mentioned member intern'iediate the first mentioned friction disks, a ring feathered on the second mentioned member capable of compressingthe rst and second mentioned risks between itself and the flange of the second mentioned member, and means for elt'ecting the movement of the ring toward 'the ilange on the second mentioned member, said means consisting of a lever moving derice and a system of levers, suoli that ivhen moved to a sufficient extent to effect the comvsion of the first and second mentioned friction disks between the ring and the things, tlurlevers become locked and cannot be released until the lever moving device is .=}'ieiatc.;l.

ln a friction clutch, a member rotatably mounted on a shaft, a second member nonrotatably mounten on the shaft adjacent the friction disks feathered on the first-mentii'incd member intmmediate the first-nieni'ioned friction disks, a ring' feathered on the second-meiltioned member capable ot' compressing the first and second mentioned disks iii-tween itsclf and the liangc of the secondnzffntioned member, a lever supporting memur, having :i slideway thereon, rigidly :it-

an outwardly evtached to-thesecond-mentioned member, a

link pivoted at one end to the ring, abellcrank lever pivoted to the lever supporting member and connected at one end to the free end of the link, a slidin link member mounted in the slideway o? the lever supportingmember, a link connectinv the other end offthe heli-crank lever with the slidable link meinber, and a lever-moving device connected to the slidable link member.

3r In a friction clutch, a shaft having an axial passage formed in one end Athereof and having a transverse aperture formed therethroughV communicating with the passage, a member mounted on the' shaft, a second member. non-rotate` bly mounted on the shaft adjacent the first member and having an out Wardly extending flange 'at its rear part,

friction disks feathered on the second-mentioned member, friction disks feathered on the first-mentioned member intermediate the inst-mentioned friction disks, a ring feathered on the second-mentioned member capable of compressing the first and second mentioned disks between itself and the liange of the second-mentioned member, a lever supporting member having a slideway thereon rigidly attached to the second-mentioned n'iember, a link pivoted at one end to the ring, a bell-crank lever pivoted to the lever supporting member and connected at one end to the free end of the link, asliding link member mounted in the slideivay of the lever supporting member, a link connecting the other end of the bell-crank lever with the slidable link member, a thrust-collar feathered on the shaft, a link connecting the thrust-collar with the other end of the slidable link member, a thrust-pin slidably mounted in the axial passage of the shaft, a. cross-head extending through the transverse aperture of the shaft and connecting' the thrust-collar with the inner end of the thrustpin, and a screw-threaded member engaging the outer end of the thrust-pin and capable of causing longitudinal movement. thereof.

l. The combination with a rotating shaft, of a self-locking clutch mounted thereon, a thrust pin carried by and rotating with said shaft for operating said clutch an end thrns device for operating said pin. an oil casing connecting said end thrust device and 'said thrust pin, said casing having a limited movement, and means for supplying oil to said casing irrespective of the position sumed in said limited movement.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto subscribed iny name in the presence of two witnesses. u

ALPHEUS ELTQN HGLCOMB. lVitnesses:

M. l. Roonronn,

Roemer Lewis Amis. 

